💡 Why it matters: If satellites can be refuelled and repaired in orbit instead of replaced, space becomes cheaper and cleaner. Technicians will control robots from Earth to do the repairs.
🌍 Around the world
- United States: Jobs for electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists and technicians are projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, about as fast as average (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).
A job of the future expected 2030s to 2040s
Satellites are expensive and usually thrown away when fuel runs out. Robotic repair ships are being tested, so new teams will be needed to run them and fix satellites in space.
This is an informed prediction, not a promise. The skills below are useful whichever way the future goes.
💰 What it can pay
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Starting out
- ₦4M – ₦9M
- Mid-career
- ₦10M – ₦25M
- Senior
- ₦25M – ₦55M
≈ ₦833k – ₦2.1M a month mid-career. Indicative estimate by Incusim.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Closest profile: Robotics engineer. Typical starter to experienced salary. National Careers Service, 2026
🇺🇸 United States
Closest US category: Electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists and technicians. Median pay; low and high are the 10th and 90th percentiles. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
🇨🇦 Canada
Closest Canadian category: Mechatronic Engineer. Hourly wage low and high x 2,080 hours; Job Bank shows no national median.. Job Bank (Government of Canada), 2023-2024
Yearly pay before tax. UK, US and Canada figures come from the official sources named on each card. Nigeria has no official salary survey, so those are our indicative estimates. Real pay depends on the employer, the place, your skills and experience.
🛠️ What you actually do
- Control robotic repair spacecraft from the ground
- Plan safe approaches to another satellite
- Swap parts, refuel or move satellites to better orbits
- Test tools and robots in space-like conditions on Earth
- Study data from the mission to improve the next one
⚡ Skills you'll need
- Robotics skills
- Precision
- Problem solving
- Calm under pressure
- Teamwork
Get ready at school
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Robotics and automation courses combined with an engineering diploma
- Begin as a satellite ground operator and train on robotic systems
- Entry is through WAEC or NECO (secondary school exam) results and JAMB (UTME, the national university entrance exam)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Apprenticeship with a space, defence or robotics company
- Robotics clubs and competitions to build skills
🇺🇸 United States
- FIRST Robotics and other school robotics teams
- Internships at space and robotics companies
🇨🇦 Canada
- Co-op programs with paid work terms
- Start with industrial robot or satellite ground operator jobs
🗺️ Your path to this career
- 1Study Physics and Maths and try robotics clubs
- 2Take a mechatronics, aerospace or computer engineering degree
- 3Build robots and join competitions
- 4Work with satellites or industrial robots
- 5Join a servicing mission team as it develops
⏰ A day in the life
You sit in the control room with your team and guide a robotic arm on a repair spacecraft toward an older satellite. Moving in tiny steps, you attach a new fuel port, then check each camera image before moving again.